


Sirens in the Afterglow

by gingergallifreyan



Series: Gerald x Betty [3]
Category: A Passionate Woman (TV), The Last September (1999)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Teninch, World War II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 09:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13361595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingergallifreyan/pseuds/gingergallifreyan
Summary: Gerald and Betty celebrate their anniversary on the night of the Leeds Blitz.





	Sirens in the Afterglow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KTRose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KTRose/gifts).



> For ktrose, who prompted "hiding in a bomb shelter together."

When Betty turned 18 and Margaret 20, they wanted to take a trip to London. Their parents scrimped and saved to provide it for them, and even allowed them to go on their own. Inevitably, they went out dancing the first night.

That’s when she met Gerald. Tall, lanky, hair she wanted to sink her fingers into, chocolate brown eyes she could get lost in. Even the garish mustache was endearing.

Donald had been courting her for months, and she expected they’d marry sooner or later, if only because that seemed to be what everyone else expected, too. Sure, he was nice. He liked Betty well enough, but…

She forgot about Donald as she danced with Gerald. She hadn’t laughed so hard in who knows how long. Betty felt she was rather in love with this man, so she went out with him every night for the rest of her trip. And when she returned to Leeds, her world seemed to fade to black and white. She never knew there could be so much color. She missed him. She tried to get Donald to dance, but he never seemed interested. 

When Gerald showed up in Leeds a month later with hope in his eyes and a job in one of the manufacturing plants, she had no choice but to break off her relationship with Donald. He wasn’t happy about it and she felt terrible for breaking his heart, but she was infinitely happier with Gerald. They were married in six months. Mark came along a year later.

So did the second great war, a few months after that. Because he worked in manufacturing, Gerald didn’t have to enlist, and he was happy for the opportunity to stay close to his little family, and Betty was happy to keep him around, especially after her father passed away at the Battle of Dunkirk. She counted herself lucky every day that Mark still had his father.  


The neighbors looked at Gerald funny while he built an Anderson shelter behind their flat, on the other side of Betty’s garden. “That’s all in London! They won’t be bombing up here. The fog keeps us hidden, it does,” they said. 

“You really think it’ll happen up here?” Betty asked, lifting Mark onto her hip.

He stepped over to her and rubbed her back. “I know the city’s planning to build shelters just in case, but I’m not taking any chances. Not with you and Mark.” He leaned down to kiss her.

“D’you think you might convince Terry to build one behind his and Margaret’s flat?”

“I can try, if it’d make you feel better.”

“We’ll go see her on Saturday. I’ll ring her in a minute.”

\--

_ 14 March, 1941 _

Betty made her way back to her flat after dropping off Mark at Margaret’s for the night. She hurried and finished dinner, a roast and vegetables. Her husband would be home soon, and then they’d go out for a night of dancing. There was no better way to celebrate the weekend of their anniversary. She had just purchased a new silk dress in canary yellow. Gerald would love it, she thought.

Sure enough, just as she’d finished putting on her red lipstick, he bounded in the door. He gave her a good, long snog and they sat down for dinner. In the club, Gerald let his hands wander a bit more freely in public than he would have otherwise, and Betty, normally a bit shy, let him. They decided to call it an evening much earlier than they normally would have.

The sirens started as they basked in the afterglow of their love. 

“Gerald, do you hear that?”

He sat up. “Sirens?”

“Does that mean--”

“Betty, get dressed. Quick, something warm. We’ve got to get to the shelter.”

She hurried and put on some clothes out of her wardrobe and grabbed her coat. Then she gasped. “Gerald, Mark!”

“He’s with Margaret, Betty. We’ve got to get outside.”

“I’m not going in there without Mark.”

“Margaret and Terry are getting in their own shelter.”

“The bloody Germans are bombing Leeds and me son is out there. I’m going to get him.” She bolted for the door.

“Betty!” He caught her arm. “Listen to me. Mark will be safe. You, however, will not be if you rush into the street and a bomb drops from the bloody sky. We’re going to the shelter.”

She wrenched her elbow from his hand. “Why aren’t upset about this? Your son is out there, Gerald!”

“Love, I am, believe me, but we didn’t plan for this. Those sirens mean the Luftwaffe are on their way right now and bombing could start any minute. As soon as it’s finished, we will go get Mark, I promise, but in order for us to do that, we need to survive.”

Tears spilled over on her cheeks.

He pulled her close. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your bloody fault.”

“Let’s go.”

She swallowed and nodded.

When they left the back of their flat, they heard people rushing to get to the shelter down the street. Gerald lit a few candles and they hunkered down on the bed he’d outfitted in the tiny bunker. He spooned her from behind, holding her as close to his chest as he could.

Betty didn’t speak for a while, but when the first explosion shattered the eerie silence, she couldn’t hold back sobbing anymore. She turned in his arms and completely broke. “Mark should be right here.”

“I know,” he murmured into her hair. “See if you can sleep.”

She lightly scoffed. “The world is falling apart outside, and you want me to sleep.”

“We’re British, Betty. What else are we supposed to do?”

She sighed. “I know.”

“These shelters are strong. They survive night after night in London. I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t think it would protect us.”

“I know.”

“Everyone knows what the sirens mean. Mark is safe with your sister. She’d never let anything happen to him. She loves him too much.”

“Thank you for putting this up. And thank you for getting them to build one, too.”

He kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome.”

“Happy anniversary, Gerald.”

“Yes.” He lightly chuckled. “Happy in some sort of way, I suppose. Happy you're with me.”

“I love you.” She snuggled into his chest, inhaling the comforting scent of him.

“I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, they did go get Mark and they were all safe and happy.


End file.
